Kilmer visits PUD 3, talks rural broadband

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, visited Mason County PUD 3 on Monday with U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small and USDA state director Helen Price Johnson to talk with local leaders and officials about broadband infrastructure and other needs.

Kilmer said rural broadband allows people to access the internet for virtual classes or for senior citizens to have telehealth visits.

"Sometimes it's the door of opportunity for a local business to sell their wares all over the place and sometimes, as Tom mentioned earlier, it's to make sure that someone can watch the Super Bowl," Kilmer said. "Or for me, 'The Book of Boba Fett' on Disney plus, which is awesome. For far too many folks I represent, they don't have it. What I'm excited about is that we have some terrific local leaders around this table that are working to fix that. I'm also excited that the federal government is going to have your back."

People in attendance included Mason

County Commissioner chair Kevin Shutty, Mason County Economic Development Council Executive Director Jennifer Baria, Mason County PUD 1 General Manager Kristin Masteller, Mason PUD 3 Communications and Government Relations Manager Lynn Eaton, PUD 3 Director of Engineering and Utility Services Justin Holzgrove, and PUD 3 commissioners Linda Gott and Tom Farmer.

Small said she was excited about the investment the Biden-Harris administration has made in rural broadband with the bipartisan infrastructure bill. According to a White House news release, the bill spends $65 billion to ensure every American has access to high-speed internet through broadband infrastructure.

"Having good, reliable internet is a fundamental necessity for Americans," Small said. "We saw that certainly when it came to COVID but the investment looks different, depending on where you are. When I think about broadband in addition to thinking about kids who shouldn't have to sit in a parking lot outside of McDonalds. If you're rural, it's not that you've heard that story, it's that it might be your kids. It's not about just elderly people, your mom, your dad who are trying to get that access, but it's also about the local utilities, which is the far less sexy part but it is crucial to actually making any of those other things happen."

Johnson commended local officials for listening to the needs of the community and taking the action to fill out the grant forms and permitting to deliver on promises made to constituents.

Shutty talked about the work the county has done with getting broadband infrastructure throughout the county with the COVID-19 or American Rescue Plan Act money distributed by the federal government. He said the money needed to fund projects to serve some of the more difficult places to reach in the county cannot be done by the county alone.

"(It) feels like we're back in algebra class and how do we solve for X? Usually, that answer is money," Shutty said. "It's great that a lot of money is now available but how do we make sure that that money actually gets into projects and make sure these projects get completed?"

Shutty talked about the county partnering with the PUDs, cities and water districts and being focused on bringing broadband to all areas while also looking at sewer and water expansion as well.

Baria of the county Economic Development Council said a lot of land is available for businesses to come to Mason County, but the lack of infrastructure is a roadblock. She said some employers want to site in the county but cannot because of a lack of substations for electricity and a lack of sewer access.

The EDC has received 35 requests for proposals for businesses looking to potentially come to Mason County in the past year, but Baria said the EDC could only respond to eight of the applicants because they weren't able to meet the initial utility requirements.

Farmer talked about the Belfair community where he lives and power expansion with the growth that is occurring due to the new Olympic Ridge and Olympic View developments. He also thanked Kilmer for his work in the U.S. House of Representatives.

PUD 3 official Holzgrove talked about some of PUD's electrical projects and the money they are trying to secure to complete the projects.

"Our existing ratepayers are already served, they're getting good, quality, reliable electricity," Holzgrove said. "We know that it should be growth that pays for growth and the developer should be paying for this infrastructure, but they cannot come and will not come unless it's available for them in a timely manner. So it's an interesting problem that we're trying to solve for and I think we're just like broadband, moving this forward in the right way. There's a lot going on here in the next couple years to make ourselves ready for that."

Masteller said PUD 1 provides power and water mainly, but PUD 1 did receive a grant to help get broadband to U.S. Highway 101 along Hood Canal from Brinnon to Jefferson County. She also talked about PUD 1's efforts to replace power poles along Hood Canal as part of infrastructure improvement.

"What my commissioners have impressed on me, they say our role is to be the middlemen that connect the resources and the people and players together to help deploy it in areas that otherwise wouldn't get served," Masteller said.

At the conclusion of the roundtable, Small and Johnson each committed to helping Mason County.

"I'm inspired by the work that you all are doing. The unspoken part about that is that you're doing all you can to get where you need to go, you just need a little bit of help to get there," Johnson said. "That's a role I think USDA rural development has historically played in rural communities but particularly right now, with these infrastructure dollars, we're in a good position to try and just make that one lift because the ratepayers alone can't make it."

Small said she hopes that once the county identifies what they need, they give Johnson a call to work together on power challenges, rural utilities and broadband infrastructure.

Kilmer thanked everyone for attending the roundtable and said he wants to help with the priorities and opportunities in Mason County.

"We want all these infrastructure dollars to come here. If there's something I can do to support you as you're navigating some of these opportunities or if you want a letter of support or whatever, count us in because we want to help," Kilmer said.

Author Bio

Matt Baide, Reporter

Shelton-Mason County Journal & Belfair Herald
Email: [email protected]

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